January 31, 2015

4am wake up call

I am trying to get a quick post in before my 4am wake up call tomorrow. I have training at 545am, soo early! My training has gone really well so far. Today I checked in many guests by myself. I even met a fellow DCP vlog/blogger!! That was a really cool experience. Luckily my shift tomorrow is out at 215. Although that is still a full 8 hours, it just doesn't seem like it because I am going in sooo early. I am going to post more detailed posts over the next few days, in the mean time I need to sleep!
Goodnight!

January 29, 2015

Coronado Springs- Mi Casa

I had my first day of training at Coronado Springs yesterday! My shift was from 1230-9 so I got to finally sleep in!! I spent about an hour in costuming with my trainer. Being 5'9 it was quite  a struggle finding pants to fit. Luckily I was able to finallly find some. I feel like a very sexy green asparagus in my costume


I spent some time with my trainer touring backstage areas. Then we learned how to bank in and then I actually got to shadow her on the desk. Towards the end of the evening I got to even check in a few guests. Everything went really well!! I love my resort. It is so pretty. The front desk has a giant window where you can see the huge lake on the resort property. This is a nice change from my 100% interior Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Sadly the concierge desk does not face the window, but all I have to do is turn around to look outside! 


When I came home from work I had a package waiting for me. My roomies had texted me that there was a package for me. I thought it was my retainer being shipped from my dentist so I didn't think anything of it. Because of the retainer I was truly surprised to find flowers sent from Brayton!!! I'd say he deserves the best boyfriend ever award! Thanks Baby!!!





After work I went to rewind Wednesday at House Of Blues. It was so fun! They played throw back music, and a few current hits too. The only downside was that it was soooo cold walking from the bus stop to House of Blues. 


I even ran into an old friend (Amanda) from my last cp at House of Blues!!


Today was my day off and I went park hopping! I will post about that shortly!

Talk to yall soon :) 



January 27, 2015

Front Desk Training Part 1 Complete!

I am finally finished with my "destination cashier" classes!  As a front desk cashier you will learn all about the check in process. Once you have a good grounding with that role you will switch over to concierge ( I have heard this takes anywhere from 3-6 weeks).

So for front desk you will have about 5 days of training at Disney University. Then I have about 5 days of on the job training with a trainer by my side. After those 5 days I will be solo at the desk, and then hopefully move to concierge quickly!

I start my on the job training at Coronado Springs tomorrow!! I went to my resort today to figure out where I needed to park, get my costume, etc. I can't wait to post my new costume selife picture (lol)


I refuse to go to a park tonight! It gets so exhausting, but it is really fun. I have a long time here and need to focus on keeping myself well rested. I am excited that I don't have to be up at the crack of down tomorrow. So tomorrow I can actually eat a real breakfast and care about doing my hair and makeup.

Talk to yall soon!!

January 25, 2015

Lilo- My New Best Friend

Lilo.. You will either lover her or hate her. Lilo is the name of the lodging software used at check in. My training class today consisted of learning alll about Lilo. It was fun because we actually got to act out a fake check in scenario in a lab that looked just like a real lobby. I am not sure if I have mentioned this before but concierge roles train in front desk first. Then after we have that under our belt we move to train in concierge. It is important for concierge to understand the check in system so they can help at the desk during peak times.


My class was from 8-430. It was a long day, but luckily we had lots of breaks. I have 2 more days of this training class. Then I believe I have a 9 hour work day on location THEN I finally have a day off. People weren't kidding when they said concierge had the longest most intensive training. All of my roomies have had like every other day off and I am going to have 6 days solid by the end of this week.


I finally got access back to the Hub today. The Hub is Disney's system for cast members to use. You can find out cast member info, ask time off, look up discounts etc. The system is pretty fun to play around on and find out what all cast members can do!


After work I went to Hollywood Studios with my roomies Emily and Carly. The crowds were pretty bad, but we realized it was because of extra magic hours. It was also pretty chilly. Ha, it's 65-55 in FL and we think it's "cold"


Time for bed now...have to be up for work in about 6 hours, yay!

Goodnight!

January 24, 2015

Welcome To Lodging

Today I had my Welcome to Lodging class. We covered alot of information in my class. We learned in depth about each resort category and all of their amenities. Then after welcome to lodging we began a front desk/concierge specific class. In this class we got to plan and budget a vacation for an imaginary family. It was really fun putting my Disney knowledge to test. I was out of class at 2:15 and went over to the cast member discount store again. I got a high heel ornament of Anna's shoe (nothing wrong with it) for $6!!!
Disney Look Outfit


After that I went to Animal Kingdom with Becky and Carly. We were able to ride Everest and Dinosaur. The park was actually pretty quite, but it was SO freezing!!! Because it was so cold we left earlier then planned. After that all of the roommates just hung out of the apartment!!












Tomorrow I start my first day of front desk software training. Wish me luck!!

January 23, 2015

First Day Of Training

Today was my first day of training. I had to be up bright and early for a 730-1130am shift. When I left my apartment this morning it was still pretty dark outside. Luckily it wasn't too cold though. My class today was called welcome to operations. Anyone working at a Disney park or resort will have to take this course. We went over the importance of the Four Keys and learned lots of new safety things. My facilitators were amazing! Luckily they kept the class upbeat and fun!

After I got off work at 1130am I went to the Disney Cast Member employee store (cast connections). This store is filled with damaged items for 75% off and sometimes even higher. I found a Lilly Pulitzer scarf for 75% off and I can't even tell you what's wrong with it! I also got a little journal book and a gift to send back home to my boyfriend, Brayton.

I went to Epcot this afternoon with my DCP 2012 friend Melanie! We walked around World Showcase, met Mulan, and rode a few rides (including the whimpy green Mission Space heheh, Thanks Mel)




I am currently trying to upload my vlogs from the past few days. The internet here is so iffy. One day its super fast and the next day it doesn't work at all.. Eeek. Luckily I have this blog to share my thoughts on while the vlog isn't getting any action!!


Traditions!

Yesterday I had my traditions class! Luckily I had session 2 and was able to sleep in. I got on the bus at 1:30 and my class began at 2:30. Word of advice. If you have a 2:30 class you will be there till about 7:30 and there isn't a meal break. So eat a heavy lunch and pack lots of snacks!

They have changed a few things in Traditions. They got rid of the games and such. I was bummed about this because I enjoyed the interactive factor of that. Instead it was mainly videos and audio clips this time around. The class lasted about 3 hours with 1 bathroom/snack break.


Attire wise.. I would say that most people had on dress clothes. Traditions currently allows people to wear dark wash jeans. I think most people avoided this because it is such a new change over. However, there were a few people in jeans and that was acceptable. It seemed like lots of people weren't really in Disney Look (in my opinion), but they didn't seem to be too strict.


OH!! So I am 99.999% positive I saw Johnny Depp during my walking tour of Traditions. Me and one girl were like omg its him!!!! Still haven't confirmed this, but I am hoping it was truly him.


I won't explain in full detail what goes on at Traditions so everyone can be surprised!!!!


Talk you to soon :)

January 20, 2015

The Internet Sucks...

So my 6 minute vlog has been loading for 2 hours.....Looks like blogging might be a bit easier for the program.....This stinks :(

Housing/Check in Info

Soooo for housing we got

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................


CHATHAM 3 BEDROOM!!!



So this wasn't our first choice (actually was about our 4-5th) BUT it all worked out really well!

We got two new girls that joined the room and luckily we all get along really well! I am so thrilled to not have bunk beds. My roommate Becky tricked me at checkin and said she was in a different unit. OMG I was so mad at her! She legit pulled that trick off; she even made it seem like she could cry. 


The process is so different now compared to my 2012 program. Check in literally took us 30 minutes.We were able to go into Vista Way 15 minutes prior to our check in time (10am). I recommend getting to the first portion of the check in window. I feel like that helped speed  along our process. After check in some of us went to casting and some had casting the next day. I was able to first go to the apartment and lay down some stuff before casting though. 


At check in you will need your ID and social OR a passport. You will not need your vehicle information until later on. You will receive a 3 day temporary parking pass. During your first three days just make sure to go to the housing office and get your parking decal. At check in you will also take your housing ID picture so make sure you like how you are looking that day :) (and also are in Disney look from the shoulders up)


OHHH! And I got my work location!!!!!!

I am at The Coronado Springs resort for Concierge :)))))


Casting was so simple. You fill out a few forms, do finger prints, and get your training schedule. 

Let me warn everyone...Bring cleaning supplies for check in! Our apartment was SO gross. I was afraid to even stand barefoot in the bathroom before we cleaned it.  So yah, bring cleaning stuff!!! 

I am currently editing my check in/day 1 vlog and I will link that in my next post!!


January 18, 2015

Goodbyes and New Beginnings

Yesterday I had to say goodbye to my boyfriend of 2+ years, Brayton. I knew the day was coming, but I think it hadn't hit me yet that I was leaving. Luckily he has many trips planned (about once a month) to come down and visit. I hate saying goodbyes. I hate them so much that I ran out of work quickly to avoid getting upset hugging everyone goodbye at work. That was another rough goodbye. I had worked for my company for over 2 years and they had all become like family to me. At least tomorrow will be filled with hellos! I have check in at 10am and am SOO excited. Fingers crossed we don't get bunk beds in our unit hehe :)



I can't wait to fill you all in about check in, casting, housing etc!!!

January 16, 2015

One More Day!

Tomorrow is my final day in my college town of Kennesaw. It is very bittersweet. I had to say goodbye to everyone at work today, and that was so hard because they are like a family to me. Luckily lots of my co workers come to Disney frequently so I will be able to catch up with them! I have to say goodbye to my boyfriend tomorrow, that will suck. But on the bright side of things I am heading to ORLANDO!

I got my DORMS check in time (10-11am) so I am going to meet my roomies (they all have the same time) about 30 minutes before we head in. I am finally about 95% packed. I just have to place everything in my backseat, my trunk is loaded. Here is my final packing vlog.



I can't wait to share my journey with everyone!!!
See ya real soon Orlando!

January 7, 2015

All about DORMS

DORMS is Disney's new (ish) system for housing registration. I have mixed opinions about the new system. I think it makes things 100% easier from Disney's perspective, but I also think it is less fair for residents. When I did my Spring 2012 College Program I lined up at Vista Way at 3am to get first dibs on housing choices. Now everything is done online, and you aren't really given any choices.

I made a vlog to explain the DORMS process.


Here are some helpful tips for the DORMS process:

•Make sure you have your vehicle tag # and drivers license # handy if you are bringing a car
•Select a leader in your group of roomies (this person will log in first)
•Be ready to rank housing options that will fit your group and larger (example: 6 girls don't have to rank 1 and 2 bedrooms)
•Make sure after the leader logs in and ranks the housing options that each roommate logs in one at a time. If you all log in together it will mess things up in the system
•You have the chance to go back and print everything after the fact, so don't freak out if your printer isn't handy when you complete the process.
•I got my email 13 days prior to my program (not 10)
•Keep calm and DORMS on :)

January 5, 2015

More Vlogs

I have been focusing more of my time on my new vlog. I will attach links below for my videos.




I can't believe my Disney College Program is almost here. In 2 weeks I will be checking in at Vista Way to start my concierge role. I also leave for vacation in 6 days, so luckily the trip is keeping my mind from counting down the minutes till I'm in Orlando. It is going to be about 14 degrees this week, and I couldn't be happier to head to warmer weather. I can't wait to share all my Disney College Program experiences with all of you!!

Talk to you soon!